


taking chances

by blindinglights



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, Kent Parson & Jack Zimmermann Friendship, Kent never played nhl hockey, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 00:44:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13135596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blindinglights/pseuds/blindinglights
Summary: Of course, Kent has to go and gain a crush on Jack’s new teammate.It’s not like anything will happen, because nothing like that happens for Kent at all, so he’s perfectly okay with admiring Alexei from afar.It’s just a small crush. That’s it. Maybe it’ll even go away eventually.(Or, Alexei Mashkov gets traded to the Falconers and starts frequenting the coffee shop that Kent works at.)





	taking chances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dellessa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dellessa/gifts).



> Dellessa asked for a coffee shop AU. So this is what came to mind. I hope you like it! Sorry this is last minute!
> 
> Just to note about this: In this fic, Kent doesn't play in the NHL. Instead, when he was in the Q he had a major injury and he couldn't play hockey anymore. He and Jack don't have the heavy backstory that they do in the comic. Jack still had his overdose (briefly mentioned in the fic). Alexei played for the Schooners and was traded at the start of this fic.
> 
> Thank you fantasticdream (unsoliciteddibs) for the beta! Any remaining errors are my own.

Working at a coffee shop that’s within walking distance to the arena sometimes has its perks. Like when singers or bands perform there and end up stopping by for coffee, if Kent is lucky and working that day. Mostly it’s just various players from the Falconers, which is a novelty for Kent’s coworkers. Not so much for Kent, because he’s friends with Jack Zimmermann and currently lives with Jack and Jack’s boyfriend Eric while he attends grad school. A fact that his co-workers never get enough of, but at least they’ve calmed down some in the last few months that Kent’s been here. 

Kent, in a way, grew up with Jack and played hockey with him in the Q, up until Kent had an injury so severe that it ended Kent’s career in hockey before it ever really started. They stayed friends after that, though, with Jack being there for him as much as he was able to at the time and Kent being there for him when Jack had his overdose. 

So hockey players? Not that exciting for Kent, but he can kinda see where everyone else is coming from.

Kent is cleaning up a spill on a table when the bell above the door chimes, signaling a new customer. He looks up to see a tall, dark haired attractive man and Kent stops what he’s doing. Kent’s the only person working right now, and he’s thankful nobody’s here to see his reaction. 

The guy looks tired and is pulling a suitcase and has a duffle bag over his shoulder. As soon as Kent gets a good look at him he realizes he’s Alexei Mashkov, who just got traded to the Falconers from the Schooners. He must be exhausted from all the traveling, but Kent doesn't know why he’s stopped in here instead of getting his errands finished quickly.

“Hi,” Kent greets, hurrying behind the counter to take his order. 

“Hello,” Alexei says, accent thick. “Tea with jam, please. ” Alexei peers into the glass case next to the counter and adds, “And cookies. They look so good. What kind?”

“Chocolate chip,” Kent replies as he rings him up.

“Not part of diet plan,” Alexei says with a shrug. “But no care, I eat anyway.”

“I’m sure they’ll deal,” Kent says. “They get enough pies.”

Alexei’s eyebrows go up at that, and he looks adorably confused. “Pies?”

Kent shrugs. “You’ll find out soon enough.” And to Alexei’s further confusion, Kent adds, “My best friend plays center for the Falcs, and we have a mutual friend who bakes.”

“The Falconers have a baker?” 

“It’s kind of something you have to see for yourself,” Kent says. “You’ll see him around at practices, when he can get there.”

“You have me excited to meet this baker. Have to tell them you talk of them.” Alexei grins with an almost teasing smile. If Kent didn’t know any better he’d say it’s almost flirting. “Your name?”

“Kent.”

“Thank you most for cookies and tea, Kent,” Alexei says. “Have to go see GM now. But see you soon, yes?” 

“Yeah, sure. Soon. I’m usually working when I don’t have class.” 

“I’m come see you, get more cookies.” And with that, Alexei leaves with a smile and a wave. 

\--

The next time Alexei shows up, it’s with a few of the Falconers trailing behind him. Alexei makes a beeline for the counter, peering into the glass to see what’s available for the day. This time, Kent had made some banana bread and sugar cookies. Sure enough, Alexei points at the bread and says, “Kenny, two pieces of bread. And tea!”

Behind him, Jack lifts an eyebrow in silent question. Marty and Thirdy are peering at the menu beside him, quietly discussing what they’ll get today.

“Kenny tell me you are friends,” Alexei says over his shoulder. 

“Friends for a long time,” Jack clarifies. 

“Played hockey together in the Q,” Kent supplies. “Until I got injured. It’s, uh. Kind of a long story.”

“Tell me later maybe?” Alexei asks as he grabs his plate and cup, mixing the jam in there himself. The noise Alexei makes when he takes a bite of his food has Kent blushing. “So good, thank you.”

“Thank Bitty, he taught me,” Kent says. “I didn’t really know my way around a kitchen until I met him.”

“Good teacher, good student. You learn best, make best.” Alexei hums around another bite, and Kent feels himself blush impossibly harder. 

Kent rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, thanks, man. I try.”

\--

Alexei starts making it a habit to show up at the coffee shop. Kent notices that Alexei is there every time there’s a game, usually during morning skate. Sometimes, it seems, when he’s just in the area (or so he says). Kent’s not sure what to believe, but he can’t complain. He likes it when Alexei shows up. He knows what this is, but it’s not like he can really help it. Alexei is nice, and he almost always makes Kent laugh. He likes seeing him, likes talking to him when he can, and he gets the impression that Alexei likes talking to him, too. He’s trying not to read too much into it, because all he needs is to get his hopes up and deal with possible rejection. 

Of course, Kent has to go and gain a crush on Jack’s new teammate.

It’s not like anything will happen, because nothing like that happens for Kent at all, so he’s perfectly okay with admiring Alexei from afar. 

It’s just a small crush. That’s it. Maybe it’ll even go away eventually.

\--

It doesn’t. Kent’s not sure what he was expecting at all. 

\--

“So, Mashkov,” Jack says one night, when they’re sitting on the couch watching the Rangers vs Aces game. “He’s at the coffee shop a lot, eh?”

Kent looks over at him before looking back at the tv, just as Jeff Troy checks someone cleanly off their feet. Kent shrugs, “He stops by sometimes.”

“He’s always talking about it,” Jack says. 

“Alexei seems to like the tea,” Kent says. “I’m pretty sure he’s the reason for our tea sales to go up, and I’m pretty sure it has my manager puzzled.”

A fight breaks out on the tv, and Kent watches as several players are sent to the penalty box, as Jack blurts out, “And he likes going to see you,” like he’s almost afraid of Kent’s reaction. Or he doesn’t really know how to approach the topic at all. 

It makes Kent freeze. “He just likes the shop.”

“He talks about you a lot,” Jack tries to tell him. 

Kent shakes his head and mutters, “You’re ridiculous. And that’d never happen, so.” Even if Kent wouldn’t be opposed to it at all, would really like it, honestly. He’s firmly set in the whole ‘not going to get my hopes up’, though.

“We’ve all noticed it.” Jack pauses, like he’s trying to choose his words closely. “And it could happen.”

“Watch the game,” Kent nudges Jack in the side. “Take your notes, pay attention, or you’ll miss all the important parts.”

Jack stops after that, his attention going back to the game. Kent sighs with relief before heading into the kitchen to get some snacks and a few beers. Eric comes home a half an hour later to both Jack and Kent discussing the game, which is still tied with less than ten minutes to go in the third period. Eric only looks at them, rolls his eyes, and Kent’s pretty sure he hears him mutter, “Boys” under his breath as he heads down the hallway.

\--

So, okay. Here’s the thing, Kent doesn’t like to get his hopes up. 

He usually gets these crushes on people (like the one guy in his econ class in his freshman year of college) and it either goes nowhere or it ends badly. Nothing _good_ ever happens to Kent. He doesn’t do relationships like Jack does, he can’t just find someone willing to put up with him for longer than a quick fuck. Nobody willing to get to know him. So the whole thing with Alexei? Just sounds as if it’s too good to be true. But obviously Jack is seeing something, even if Kent refuses to believe it at all. If given the opportunity, he’s pretty sure Jack would tell him to just go for it, take his chances, maybe even quote his uncle Wayne. _You miss 100 of the shots you don’t take_ , or whatever.

But after that talk, Kent can’t stop noticing things.

Like how sometimes Alexei will sit down at an empty table early in the morning, right before the first rush and way before Kent knows he has skate, and Alexei will talk about his friends from Russia, his family, and all the different stories in-between. 

Other times, Alexei will order his tea and make jokes after jokes while Kent makes his drink. 

He even starts noticing how Alexei will look at him when he thinks Kent’s not looking. Alexei’s expression is soft, happy in a way that Kent’s not used to seeing directed at him. He doesn’t even know what to say, suddenly feeling too shy and overwhelmed to do anything about it but hope that Alexei makes the first move, if he’s truly interested.

So even if Kent hates getting his hopes up, he finds himself thinking and hoping _maybe_ anyway.

\--

Kent usually opens since most of his classes are either in the afternoon or evening. They’re easier for him, even if he kinda hates early mornings. So that’s where he’s at now, in the back getting the shop ready for opening and the morning rush. He’s too wrapped up in what he’s doing, with one ear bud in his ear while he gets everything together and in order. He’s singing Britney under his breath, dancing a little as he takes a bowl down from the cupboard and grabs for the four.

So he’s not expecting it at all when someone says hello right when he grabs for the flour. Kent jumps, his hands squeezing the bag of flour so hard that a bunch of it hits him in the face. He swears under his breath, turning around, only to bump right into someone. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Alexei rushes to say, catching Kent before Kent ends up falling, the bag of flour slipping from Kent’s hands. It lands on the tile floor with another puff of powder in the air. He’s pretty sure it’s all over both of their pants and he’d laugh at how funny all of this is if it wasn’t for Alexei’s large hands gripping his waist so tight.

Kent, surprised, looks up into Alexei’s eyes, feeling his mouth go dry at how close they are.

“Sorry, not mean to scare you,” Alexei apologizes, brushing away a streak of flour on Kent’s face.

This close, Kent can see specks of a honey color in Alexei’s dark brown eyes. He knows he should step away, but he can’t seem to make himself move at all. He’s rooted to the spot, Alexei’s warm hands like a brand against his waist.

“Sorry,” Alexei repeats, voice gentle as if he thinks one wrong move will spook Kent. It might, actually. Alexei cups the side of Kent’s face, brushing away the flour that he can feel is streaked there. 

It makes Kent realize just how close they are and how easy it’d be to just lean in the rest of the way and _kiss_ Alexei. He jerks away at that, stumbling back and seeming to come back to himself. Because he can’t kiss Alexei, _shouldn’t_ kiss Alexei, even if he really wants to. It’d be a monumentally horrible idea. Plus this is Jack’s teammate, someone Kent will probably see a lot of throughout the season, and there’s no way that Kent’s going to turn this into something awkward where they can’t even look at one another. 

“I, uh, need to clean this up,” Kent mumbles, tripping over his words and already reaching for the broom and dustpan in the corner. 

“Let me help,” Alexei urges, still looking so apologetic that it doesn’t help Kent’s whole ‘I want to kiss you’ dilemma. Because, yeah, of course Kent’s crush has to be on this amazing guy that he can’t have. 

“No!” Kent nearly shouts, making Alexei freeze right where he’s standing. “No, it’s okay, I’ve got this.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure, alright.”

“Okay. I see you later.”

Standing alone in the back of the cafe, Kent realizes that maybe he’s in over his head.

Kent’s life is a mess. 

\--

Kent manages to clean up the mess and finish getting everything prepared for opening just in time. The morning rush hits at 9am and then it’s just a flurry of ringing up customers, making drinks, restocking the glass case, cleaning the counter and tables. It’s when the morning rush has finally died out and Kent’s busy cleaning up a particularly messy table that the bell on the door chimes. He looks up to see Alexei standing by the door, looking determined yet a little nervous. 

“Can we talk?” Alexei asks, and doesn’t give Kent much time to answer before he’s pulling Kent toward the back. He catches a few curious glances from his co-workers, but they don’t say anything. Once they’re tucked safely away from anyone hearing, Alexei turns to him. 

“Okay,” Kent says slowly. “We can--” Alexei stops him with a kiss and Kent’s eyes go wide in shock, hands coming up to hold onto Alexei’s arms as his eyes close and lets himself be kissed. They break away after a moment, Alexei’s hands still cradling his face. “That’s definitely not talking.”

Alexei kisses him again, slow and sweet, and Kent kisses back until he’s pushing him away. “You not want?” 

Kent wants, he really, really _wants_ , but. They should talk. They _should_. “You kissed me.”

“Not come in here just for tea and cookies.” 

“Oh.”

Alexei smiles, leaning back in to pull Kent into another kiss. “I like you.”

Kent blinks up at Alexei. “You do?”

“Very much.” Alexei sighs. “Feel so bad when I scare you. Not mean to. Wanted to surprise, say hi before practice.” 

“It’s okay,” Kent says, because it is. Of course it is, no matter what. “It was just some flour I dropped, not a big deal.” 

“I’m want to help clean mess, but you tell me no, so I go.” Alexei takes a deep breath, seemingly to brace himself, before he softly confesses, “Wanted to kiss you so much.”

“You could have.”

“How I supposed to know you want that?”

“I really wanted to kiss you, too,” Kent confesses. _I’ve had this huge crush on you_ , goes unsaid. But he thinks Alexei has some sort of idea now, anyway. 

“Is why you tell me leave? Want kiss me that bad?” 

Kent answers that with a kiss, pushing Alexei back until he hits the edge of a counter. When they break for air, Kent says, “I did, I _do_ want to kiss you.”

“Good,” Alexei replies as he does just that, kissing Kent again like he can’t even get enough. Kent feels the same.

“I get off at 5 tonight, you should take me out on a date, Alexei.” 

“Okay,” Alexei says, “I go home, get ready. I take you on nice date and we have fun. Be best date.”

“Yeah, okay,” Kent grabs for his phone, programming his number into Alexei’s phone.

They go on a date later, just dinner and a walk in the park, but it’s one of the best Kent’s ever been on, if he’s being honest.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me over at tumblr [here](http://alexeiiimashkov.tumblr.com/)! :)


End file.
